The word "ornery" began as "ordinary." In the days when you were either of the "gentle"
class or merely "ordinary," parents would say to their stubborn children when they refused to
do as they were told, "Don't be so ordin'ry."

On this website, we look for the voices of those Ornery Americans -- the common folk who
don't pretend to be intellectuals or elite in any other way, but who are just stubborn enough
to think that we ordinary folk are the ones to whom this nation was entrusted from the start.

1. We aren't impressed by your credentials, Dr. This or Senator That. We aren't going to take
your word for it, we're going to think it through for ourselves.

2. We don't like being spun. That doesn't mean we aren't sometimes fooled by the way
reporters slant their stories, but when we find out how we've been manipulated, we get a little
mad and we refuse to trust that writer, commentator, that magazine, that newspaper, that
news network, or that politician again.

3. We think America is larger and more important than our self-interest. You can't buy our
integrity with a boomtown economy, and we won't let you shame our country just to avoid
risking American lives. We Americans have never been afraid to make sacrifices for a worthy
cause.

4. We believe that character matters -- our own character, the character of our leaders, and the
character of our nation as a whole. We don't like bullies and cowards, liars and hypocrites,
and we don't appreciate it when our leaders make our nation behave as if that were what
Americans are.

5. We'll forgive your misdeeds, but only if you apologize sincerely and never do it again. Our
trust, once betrayed, is not lightly restored.

6. We vote.

7. We know that good, wise people sometimes disagree. So we listen to the views of others,
and have no patience with those who shout others down or use ridicule or coercion to silence
serious arguments. Only fanatics and dictators assume that anyone who disagrees with them
must be evil or stupid.

8. We believe in right or wrong. Individual cases may merit compassion, but the law must be
respected. Along with individual freedom must come responsibility for others. Along with
compassion for the minority's needs must come respect for the majority's will.

9. We believe in representative government, with the separation of powers set forth in the
Constitution. Judges do not have the right to create law. Presidents do not have the right to
lie to, conceal information from, or ignore the prerogatives of Congress. Congressmen must
act first for the good of the nation, and only secondarily for the benefit of their constituents.

10. We reject violence except in self-defense or to protect the weak against aggression.

If you are an Ornery American, we hope you'll take part here and invite others to join us as
well.

If you post something and someone disagrees with your idea, their disagreement does not
erase your original statement. There is no need to answer except to clarify or offer new
material.

Personal attacks, mockery, or speculation about the motives of people posting here are not
allowed, and such posts will be removed without notification. Repeated offenders will be
banned from the site.

Personal courtesy is the fundamental condition of free discussion, and free discussion is the
fundamental condition of democratic government.

 Many people have asked OSC where they can get the facts behind the rhetoric about the war. A good starting place is: "Who Is Lying About Iraq?" by Norman Podhoretz, who takes on the "Bush Lied, People Died" slogan.